Diamond Minutes
by gwenstacey
Summary: Ino discovers that nothing is more precious than time when you're racing against it as she struggles to reach Neji and his team in time to save them from a doomed mission.
1. Chapter 1

There was a slight shift in the moonlight, just the briefest flutter of difference that had Ino waking up and cracking her eyelids open. She carefully scanned the room with her eyes, being careful not to move anything else, before sitting up when her eyes fell on Neji standing by her window as he patiently waited for her to conclude he wasn't a threat. Once he was deemed safe Ino flopped back onto the bed with a groan and he began to make his way over to her.

"Neji," Ino grumbled, "It's 2am. What are you doing here?"

Rather than answering, Neji sat on the bed and leaned over, placing a sweet kiss on her lips. Ino returned the kiss, all the while blinking up at him in confusion.

"Neji?" she questioned when he pulled back, "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah," he answered, sliding his hand over her cheek, "I just have to leave on a mission and wanted to let you know."

"You're leaving in the middle of the night?" she queried, hoping he wasn't getting back into Anbu work, "Can you tell me why?"

"Just a protection detail," he smiled softly, "With a particularly jumpy client. We're taking him to a safe house and staying for a few days until his regular body guards come to stay with him."

"Hmm," came Ino's reply as she slid her hands up his arms to pull forward from his triceps, "How long before you leave?"

"Not long enough," he smirked down at her, following the pull of her arms before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead, knowing it was all he could afford if he wanted to be on time, "I'm meeting my team at the gates in five minutes."

Ino let out a small huff of air and pouted for just a moment before arching up to place a kiss on the underside of his jaw.

"Be safe." she commanded gently, taking one of his cheeks in her hand and tipping his head so that she could meet his eyes.

"Always," he smiled back at her, placing one last kiss on her nose before slipping out of her arms and going to pick up the pack he had left sitting on the floor under her window, "I should be back in just over a week, assuming the lazy body guards manage to make it on schedule."

Ino smiled and nodded, knowing he was giving her an excuse to use in case he was late so that she wouldn't have to worry to badly, and watched him slip silently out of the window and into the night.

~*~

AN: I said I wanted to post one of my multi-chapter fics for my 25th story and so I have. A very short introduction, the chapters will get longer though, I promise. I've broken my own rule on this one and started posting it without being done, or anywhere close to it. So expect random updates, especially with finals coming up. I'm going to try for a chapter once every two weeks. But do feel free to encourage me to hurry and let me know what you think ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

AN: There is so little dialogue in this chapter that its practically non-existent, but it is just chuck full of information, so hopefully that will make up for it. Oh, and I did not have time to get this properly edited if I wanted to meet my self-imposed deadline, so please be kind if there are mistakes (but do let me know so I can fix them please).

~Begin~

Neji shifted his weight on the high branch he was perched on top of and watched as the first rays of day light spilled over the edge of the valley below him to dance across the tops of the trees. His team had traveled all through the night and were just now stopping to get some food and water for themselves, and for the client and his horse.

It was because of the horse that they were making such excellent time. Normally, a group of shinobi escorting a civilian were slowed to a snails pace. This particular client, however, had wanted to move as quickly as possible and had gone through the extra trouble and expense of hiring a horse to be sure that happened. As a result they were now only a few short hours from the border of fire country. The amount of progress they had made in a single night was almost unheard of for an escort mission, yet Neji couldn't bring himself to feel pleased with this development.

Something about this mission didn't sit well with the young Hyuuga. Something was itching at the back of his mind and putting his senses on high alert, and Neji had not made it as far as he had in the ninja world by ignoring niggling feelings. But as hard as he tried to discover why he was so on edge he was unable to locate the source of his disquiet.

He sighed and began to slip back down the tree. Perhaps his teammates had been able to discern something new about their situation, as unlikely as it was. It had been a surprise to him last night, when he had voiced his concerns to the three shinobi serving under him, that Kiba and Akamaru had both been ill-at-ease as well. The dog-nin and his companion were generally so carefree that anything capable of shaking them was definitely worth attention. Shino and Chouji, on the other hand, had reacted predictably; one with stoicism and the other with cautious optimism.

What was bothering Neji the most, however, was the definite lack of anything around or about their client that could be alerting his senses to danger. Between his eyes, Shino's bugs, and Kiba's nose the client, Zetsumei Kansei, had been thoroughly searched and come up completely clean. The only thing on the man besides food, clothing, and a bit of money, was one half of a two-way radio, probably for keeping in touch with his regular body guards once they were within range of the device.

Neji's feet found the forest floor once again and he gave the command to pack up camp so the could continue moving onward. As much as he hated getting farther from the safety of Konoha while feeling as wary as he was there was nothing to make him think that he and his team were the ones in danger at this time; and if the threat was to Konoha rather than themselves, then he wanted this mission over with so they could be back there as soon as possible.

He cast a brief, longing glance in the direction of home as the group started moving again. He conjured up a picture of Ino in his mind and echoed the young woman's parting words back at her, hoping that she'd somehow hear and accept the command as easily as he had.

'_Be safe'_

_~break~_

Ino awoke several hours after dawn and slowly stretched out her muscles before climbing out of bed. Sunlight was streaming into he room past the curtains Neji had neglected to close on his way out last night. She'd be irritated with him for it if it wasn't that she was certain he had done it on purpose so that she wouldn't question if last nights meeting with him was a dream.

She felt a small shiver at the thought of him and frowned at herself as she went to close the curtains. He'd only been out of the village for a few hours and she was already feeling jumpy. It was unlike her to be this way. Neji was an excellent ninja and Ino had always thought that questioning if he would return would be an insult to his skill.

She held no illusions about the life expectancy of shinobi. And she knew that sometimes even the best didn't make it home, Asuma-sensei's death had taught her that. But it had also taught her to cherish the time she did have.

'_And worrying isn't cherishing.'_ she thought with chagrin.

She went through her morning routine, accidentally conditioning her hair twice because she was so caught up in her own thoughts, and then made her way out and across town to her parents flower shop. There was a particularly large shipment today and she had agreed to man the front while her parents sorted everything out in the back.

Business in the shop was slow however, and it gave her mind to much time to wander, only causing her sense of unease to increase. At least if she was on a mission or working at the hospital she would have something besides flipping through old magazines to keep her occupied. Things took a slight turn around lunch though, when Tonbo stopped in with a message for her.

"Ino-san," he nodded politely and she returned the greeting, "A rogue-nin was captured last night lurking around Konoha's outer wall. Ibiki is with him right now, but he seems especially tough minded. If he doesn't crack today we may need your talents tomorrow."

"Of course," she smiled, glad to have something to occupy her mind pondering over, but when Neji's face flashed in her mind she found herself asking, "What time was he caught?"

"Around one am," Tonbo replied, tipping his head to the side to show his curiosity, "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," she lied, not wanting to let on that she had been worried Neji might have met up with the rogue. Tonbo quirked his lips in a manner that showed he didn't fully believe her, but didn't question the answer and turned to leave.

Ino sighed and wondered if perhaps Neji's client had heard about the rogue ninja, it would certainly explain his haste to leave if he had. Civilians never did take the news that missing-nins had been lurking nearby very well, even after the threat had been taken care of. But she dismissed the thought and began to prepare herself mentally for tomorrow should she be needed. Walking through an enemies mind was never an easy or fun experience.

The rest of her day passed slowly along in this same vein. The only noteworthy thing to happen was a messenger knocking on her door that evening to let her know that, yes, she would be needed in T&I tomorrow.

When Ino went to bed that night, two emotions warred for dominance in her head. The first was curiosity over what she would discover tomorrow, the second was a growing sense of dread that her unexplained disquiet hadn't left her yet, or eased at all over the course of the day. It was with a weary sigh that she closed her eyes and realized the dread was winning.

~break~

Moon light and shadow shifted over rippling muscles as a man switched his position as he stood watch at the mouth of a cavern tucked into the trees halfway up a mountainside. His gaze landed on a small cottage sitting on the plane below and he felt his lips twist into a cruel smirk.

'_Soon,'_ he thought, raising his eyes in the direction his prey would be coming from, _'soon they will come, and vengeance will be mine.'_

He chuckled, a low, evil sound, and went back to watching the supposed safe house.

'_And how very sweet it will be.'_

~TBC~

AN: Ack! So busy lately, won't bore you with the details, but I said within two weeks and I did it. Yay me!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I know this is late, I apologize, there isn't internet at my new house so I'm posting this from my parents (blah). But it's a long chapter, for me anyway.

Incase there was any confusion, Ino is 19 in this, and Neji is 20. All other ages have been adjusted accordingly.

~begin story~

Ino was up before dawn the next day, she usually was on mornings she would be working for the Torture and Interrogation department, and she stood on her balcony slowly sipping her coffee and watching Konoha begin to awaken as the sun crept it's way over the horizon. The day would undoubtedly prove to be both long and unpleasant, but she always found she could counter its after-affects by spending her morning enjoyably.

She sighed as she pushed herself away from the railing and headed back into her apartment to deposit her now empty coffee mug in the sink and slip on her shoes before heading out onto the streets. She meandered down the roads between her home and the T&I building at a leisurely pace, knowing she had left herself plenty of time to spare, and smiled at the few others she passed on her way; mostly vendors just opening shop or ninja just coming home from missions. She kept a close eye on the latter, making sure none of her comrades had been seriously injured, but saw nothing to give her pause.

The Torture and Interrogation building looked the same as ever when she arrived. It was an unremarkable building from the outside, designed so that anyone who didn't already know what it was would let their eyes slide over it without giving it a second thought. Once inside Ino made her way down a long cement corridor that nearly thrummed with the energy of hundreds of hidden seals and traps designed to keep "guests" inside and any friends foolish enough to attempt a rescue out. She opened the heavy metal door at the end and squinted as her eyes were assaulted by the too-bright artificial light of another hallway, the light being another precaution meant to temporarily blind any prisoners that needed to be moved from one dark room to another, though it was little fun for the ninja that worked there to deal with either.

Ino ignored the many corridors that branched out from the one she was in and counted the unmarked doors that lined the hallway until she found the one she knew led into Ibiki's office and rapped lightly on it with her knuckles.

"Enter," came the harsh command from the other side.

Ibiki's office was never particularly neat, but it looked as though all hell had broken loose today. Piles of papers littered the desk and chairs, a pencil holder had been overturned and spewed it's contents across the floor, and Ino was able to count eight paper coffee mugs lying discarded around the room, meaning that Ibiki probably hadn't slept last night. The man in question was sitting at his desk, in the only chair not occupied by a paper stack, and pouring over a scroll of some sort. He didn't bother to look up when Ino came in.

"Have a seat Yamanka," he said once the door was closed.

Ino raised an eyebrow at this, but decided to surreptitiously move the papers from one of the chairs into a previously unoccupied corner and then sat herself in the newly freed chair. Ibiki sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face before finally looking up at the young-woman sitting opposite from him, and Ino made a mental note that he must be very tired for him to make such an open display of it.

"All we know about this subject thus far is what we've been able to glean from the bingo books," Ibiki started, never having been one to mince words, "His name is Haikibutsu Kasu. He is a missing-nin from cloud and a part of a group of rabbles that still desire the destruction of Konoha because of certain casualties suffered during the war between the two villages."

Ino cocked her head to the side in question and Ibiki nodded, continuing with a more in-depth explanation.

"Both cloud and Konoha suffered great losses of life during the war. It came to the point that the villages, Cloud especially, felt the need to send children barely out of the academy out onto the battle fields in an attempt to build-up the forces. Both sides lost some of their most promising talent, seeing as the clan geniuses were some of the first to be sent out. These radicals, including our current guest, have never forgiven Konoha for the loss, or learned to live with it. The incident involving the attempted kidnapping of Hyuga Hinata only fueling their ire. Their goal is the total devastation of Konoha, starting with it's most promising youth."

Ino nodded and gazed absently at the edge of Ibiki's desk for a moment, giving herself time to absorb this new information, before looking back up to meet the interrogator's eyes.

"Where is he?"

Ibiki stood and made his way to the door, gesturing for Ino to follow as he walked out into the hallway. As they wandered through the many maze-like corridors he continued his debriefing.

"As per the regulations of our treaty agreement with Cloud, they have been notified that we have one of their missing-nin. Apparently this one used to be involved in something big because they are sending hunters to come retrieve him rather that simply allowing us to deal with him. That means we only have roughly three days to learn what he was doing lingering around our walls before we lose him and the information."

Ino 'hmmed' and nodded once more, it certainly explained why she had been called in so quickly.

Ibiki stopped to open a door and all talking ceased. The prisoner they had been discussing was centered in the room, encased in a large bubble of concrete that looked like an outgrowth of the floor itself; covered in various seals to prevent him from using even the most basic jutsu. Tonbo was standing against one wall along with another Yamanaka, a cousin of Ino's, who would presumably be functioning as her 'spotter', ready to assist incase she ran into any traps within the man's mind that she couldn't handle by herself. Ino was always grateful for the precaution but was also very confident of her own abilities; it had been years since she had needed any help with such things after all.

With a deep breath and a moment of final preparation Ino stepped forward and began to form the hand seals necessary for her families signature jutsu. With a final seal and a murmur of the techniques name Ino found herself standing within the mind of her subject.

If the twists and turns, unexpected starts and abrupt ends of the T&I building's intricate makeup were confusing, the human mind was infinitely more so. To Ino it had always resembled a giant web made of light. The most recent memories glowed the brightest and looped around the outside following and interconnected path that spiraled towards the oldest memories at the center. But it was far from being as simple as a set of stepping stones. Each memory had a network of threads extending from it, linking it to other memories and bits of information the person believed were relevant to the memory's situation. There were blank spots where things had been forgotten, smears where a person had attempted to forget things, and piles in some places where one memory was overpowered and buried by another. It was in this type of jungle that Ino now found herself.

She carefully navigated her way beyond the most recent thoughts of Ibiki's work the previous day, knowing from experience that it would produce nothing helpful if Ibiki hadn't managed to draw anything out himself. She then sifted through the time he had spent lingering outside of the walls. It was obvious to her that he was searching for a weak spot that could be exploited and used as a point of entry. He wrote reports and sent them off to someone at times, but since they were all in code they offered little help. Apart from these things and the area the man had been sleeping in for three days to avoid detection by the border patrols, there was little else to be gained. So she moved on.

Carefully moving backwards through the mans mind she watched his uneventful trip to Konoha and came upon the first mental trap that had been laid in the man's mind as she watched him near his place of origin, which appeared to be a large mountain cavern. She quickly and cautiously disassembled the trap and was very nearly startled when she saw a mountain of a man suddenly standing in front of her in the eyes of the man who's mind she was invading.

"I want you to find us an easy way into Konoha," the man was saying, "It would be advantageous to have a team on the inside once they become aware we are moving. The scum that is Konoha will undoubtedly become wary after they realize their first sons have fallen."

This statement perked Ino's interest and she moved further back in the man's mind to learn exactly what he meant.

Meanwhile, Ibiki had taken station along the wall beside the other two men, pulling a chair over to give his feet a break. Ino's technique was highly effective, but also time consuming.

It was several hours later that the young woman pulled back from her subject abruptly, gasping for air and looking rather shaken.

"Ino," Ibiki stated, rising quickly to his feet and striding towards her, worried because it had been a very long time since she had seen anything within a prisoners mind that upset her so badly, "What happened? Are you alright?"

The girls knees buckled momentarily and he put an arm out to steady her. He was taken back when she raised her eyes to his and he saw that they were filled with infinite pain and sadness. Her voice shook when she finally answered him.

"It's a trap."

~page break~

"Mujihi-sama," a man said as he approached the looming figure still standing at the mouth of the cavern.

"What is it Tero," he responded, more a command than a question. His deep baritone echoed off the cavern walls in spite of the fact he had not raised his voice.

"We have not gotten our regular report from Kasu yet," the smaller man answered, wringing his hands together and blinking his beady eyes before continuing, "it is likely that he has fallen into enemy hands."

Mujihi shifted his weight but never took his eyes off of the plain below him. He looked completely unaffected by the news.

"It matters very little," he replied, "Kasu wasn't producing any useful information and we can carry on without him. By the time Leaf's interrogators get anything of our intentions from him it will already be to late for them."

"Of course Mujihi-sama," Tero nodded, and without another word he slipped back into the shadows of the cave.

~page break~

Neji's team stood off to one side of a stream, all smiling good humouredly at their client/charge. He was walking around very gingerly in a manner that made it quite clear he was unused to riding a horse. Neji had offered to slow the pace to make him more comfortable, but he had adamantly refused.

Neji huffed a small sigh of amusement and chagrin as the man attempted to bend over to refill his water canteen, and then looked back in the direction of Konoha. It was a habit Neji had found himself falling frequently into since the start of this mission. It was very unlike him to be distracted by anything, but he still could not shake his feeling of unease.

Shrugging his shoulders as if to rid them of some unseen weight he turned back to the rest of the group.

"We should start moving again shortly," he ordered gently, "We are only about a half a days journey from our destination and we've already spent enough time dawdling that we won't make it tonight."

"You mean we're spending another night out of doors?" Kansei asked, looking unreasonably shaken by the prospect. "I was hoping we would make it there by night fall."

Neji smiled good naturedly at the man and shook his head.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen Zetsumei-san," he replied, "and for the safety of everyone involved I will have to insist that we stop for the night once we lose the light."

The man huffed and nodded, clambering back onto his horse.

"Lets cover as much ground as possible then," he stated.

Neji nodded and picked up his pack, the rest of the team following suit, and with just a minutes work they vanished into the trees.

~TBC~

AN: Aaaand the plot thickens. I had to proof-read this one myself, so I hope I didn't miss too much. Please let me know what you think, reviews make me and my inbox happy.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Finally an update! I had to tackle this chapter and beat it with a stick to get it to work for me, and I'm sure not entirely sure I'm thrilled with it. But here's hoping that it works!

Oh, and ff was doing something weird when I posted the last chapter so if you left me a review, or tried to, thank you very much and I wasn't ignoring you, I just didn't get it.

~begin~

The folders that lay in two neat rows across the Hokage's desk were illuminated by the last rays of a fading twilight as she sat, her eyes closed and fingers steepled, deep in thought. She had, of course, been aware of the renegade band of missing-cloud-nin for some time, but she had seen them as a relatively small threat in comparison to some of the other larger and seemingly more pressing enemies she was constantly batting away from Konoha's doorstep. She was appalled at this little rag-tag team of hooligans that planned to strike out at her city, and even more so at herself for giving them the opportunity to do so.

She opened her eyes and looked down at the first row of folders: the personal files for Kiba, Shino, Chouji, and Neji. It was no wonder why these four were being targeted. Chouji and Shino were both prominent members of their clans and wielded their families jutsu at an exceptional level. Kiba was one of the strongest shinobi his clan had seen in generations, having surpassed even the skill and rank of his mother. As for Neji himself, he had been proclaimed as a genius since he was just 13 years old, and he did the title justice. It was, without a doubt, an exceptional team and Konoha would be hard hit if this scheme was successful.

Tsunade brought her fist down on the desk causing a hairline crack to run the length of it. Four of her best and brightest were in serious danger of loosing their lives and all she could do was sit here and hope for the best. With a deep breath she leaned forward and massaged her temples as she looked up to the second row of files. These were the personal files of those now speeding towards team Hyuga's destination in hopes of rendering them aid. Tsunade herself had had little to do with assembling this team. Ino had come in, looking shaken and determined, to give her report and had then begun making demands as to what was to be done for the endangered team.

Had it been anyone else Tsunade would have opposed their take charge attitude, violently, but she knew the desperation of trying to save the one you loved and she would not stand in the girls way. In retrospect, she probably couldn't have picked a better team for the job.

Kakashi would be leading, Shikamaru planning, and Sakura serving as medic along with Ino herself. Tsunade had sent an Anbu team out as well, about five minutes behind the initial group, but doubted they would catch up. This incarnation of Team Kakashi was chasing after people they loved, respected, and had grown up with. It would give them wings. She only hoped their flight was fast enough.

~page break~

Small branches whipped at Ino's face as she raced through the trees as fast as her legs would carry her. They had been traveling all day and it was now well into the night. She knew, logically, that they would have to stop to rest soon if they wanted to be any real help incase there was a battle when they arrived. Ino knew this, but at this moment she absolutely hated it. Her heart was warring with her head, urging her to continue on and reach Neji as quickly as possible.

She was still battling with this thought several minutes later when Kakashi deliberately dropped from the trees into a small clearing below and stopped.

"We'll setup a quick camp here and get what rest we can for the next four hours." he said.

"F-four!" Ino spluttered, "That's to long, we don't need that much rest."

Kakashi paused for a moment and just looked at her, weighing the options over again and taking her frazzled state into consideration. Shikamaru and Sakura remained silent, awaiting the final verdict. Finally, Kakashi nodded.

"We can cut it down to three, but that's as short as we can get without doing ourselves more damage than good." He stated reasonably.

Ino nodded, knowing he was right even if it did little to ease the constricting pain in her chest. Sakura squeezed her shoulder briefly as she passed by to the other side of the clearing to bunk down. Ino quickly took out her own sleeping bag and slid herself inside of it. She doubted she would be able to get any sleep tonight, but the faster she started trying the faster she could get back up and on her way to Neji. And right now, that was all that mattered.

~page break~

Neji was awakened at dawn by the sound of someone shuffling lightly around the camp. He quickly and inconspicuously took hold of the kunai he kept hidden close by and looked around. The noise turned out to be nothing more than Kansei finishing up with his dressing and trying to get everything back into his travel bag. It always took the civilian a little longer to get ready to move than it did the shinobi accompanying him, and it looked like he was trying to make up the difference this time around.

Neji shifted his gaze to his teammates and, seeing that they were already awake as well, decided to give up the pretense of sleep and prepare for the departure their client was obviously wanting. Kansei jumped when he caught sight of Neji swiftly standing up from his bedroll out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, "You're up, Hyuga-san."

"I am," Neji nodded, "and it would seem that you are desiring an early start this morning."

"Yes," the other nodded, "I'll feel much better once we've reached the safe house. We must be getting quite close by now."

"Only a two-hours journey from here," Kiba answered the man from were he was swiftly packing up his gear.

"We'll have you there in time for a mid-morning snack." added Chouji with a smile.

Neji nodded and returned Chouji's smile when the man looked his way. His teammates had been very subdued this mission, and it was nice to see them loosening up a bit now that they were nearing the end of it.

"Are we all ready to go then?" Neji asked, turning to Kansei when he saw his three friends had finished packing their things.

"Indeed," The man replied, mounting his horse and spurring it forward, "Let's begin."

The four ninja spared each other a brief glance at the mans sudden coldness but made no mention of it as they began to wordlessly follow.

~page break~

Tero was standing at the entrance to the cavern and keeping close watch on the field below when the formidable form of his captain appeared behind him.

"Anything yet?" he asked, causing Tero to resist the urge to jump.

"No, not yet Mujihi-sama," he replied, turning to face the other, "I will be sure to alert you the moment they arrive."

"No need," Mujihi replied as his eyes spotted movement over Tero's shoulder, "Kushin, Isei, they are here. Ready your gear, we will move at midday."

The other shinobi murmured their acceptance and began doing as ordered; Tero joining them after a moment when he realized there was no need to remain at his post since his commander had made no move away from it. Indeed the man's attention was focused solely on the five men emerging from the woods on the other side of the small plain.

~End Chapter~

AN: I put this up as quick as possible once I finally got it done, so if you spotted any typos or miss spellings I missed, please let me know.

Next chapter: The Fighting begins!


	5. Chapter 5

There was no clock inside the safe house, but this made little difference to the four shinobi now within its walls. They could tell by the angle of sunlight streaming through the window that it was very nearly noon. This information was more than enough motivation for Choji, who was currently digging through the cabinets and pulling out various items that he would no doubt transform into a fabulous meal before to long.

Everyone seemed relaxed and relieved to be within the sturdy walls of the little cottage, everyone except their client. Kansei was currently wearing a hole in the floor with his pacing, tracking from one window to the next and murmuring under his breath about how long it was taking for his regular body-guards to arrive. It was almost enough to make Neji feel sorry for the tardy guards, but not quite. After all, every minute they were late was another minute wasted that he and his team could be heading back to Konoha to assure themselves that everything was ok at home.

"Zetsumi-san," Neji began, catching the pacing mans attention, "What direction will your guards be coming from? I can use my byakugan to scan the area and see how far away they are if you like. If they are within ten kilometers of here I should be able to see them, and that will give us a rough estimation of when they should arrive."

Kansei looked taken back by the offer, and then looked flustered for a minute before settling on appearing sheepish.

"Ah, no. Thank you, Neji-san, for the offer but I will be fine. I'm sorry if my pacing is distracting to you. I was lost in my own thoughts. To be honest, I'm not sure which direction my guards would be arriving from given our current location."

Neji thought this was odd, but shook it off as simply being the effect of long travel on a civilian. He supposed it would be easy for Kansei to lose his sense of direction in the woods. The man in question settled for seating himself in front of the east facing window with his chin in one palm and an anxious look on his face.

The next fifteen minutes were spent in blissful quiet, with Kiba and Akamaru snoozing and Choji's cooking steadily making the air around them smell more and more appetizing. Neji and Shino remained their normal, stoic selves and things were peaceful. It was at the end of this time period that Neji sat up suddenly, having felt a foreign chakra niggling at the edge of his senses. He had just gotten up, announcing this to his fellow shinobi, when an explosion rocked the small cottage.

~xox~

Ino stopped and stared in horror at the plume of smoke that was rising above the trees only a mile ahead of her current position. The rest of the rescue team was frozen around her and it was clear that both Shikamaru and Kakashi were busy planning out possible next moves. Sakura, on the other hand, was simply looking at Ino in that determined way the girl had developed over the years that let her friend know she was there for her no matter what was about to happen. In all, the group was stopped for less than a second before they were once more moving through the trees at a break neck pace. They were so close to their destination that none of them could bear the thought that they might be to late.

Ino was the first to burst through the trees into the clearing ahead. She could see the black crater that must have been the source of the explosion and resulting smoke cloud still smoldering only yards away from a ramshackle cottage that must have been the 'safe house' the other team had been in previously. They weren't within it's walls anymore however. A fierce battle was now waging on the field surrounding the small building, and Ino quickly surveyed the fights taking place, trying to find a way to make it safely to the other side, to Neji. She could see him, fighting along side Shino against the largest opponent with their client cowering only a few feet behind them clutching a long carving knife to his chest as if he would try and defend himself should the shinobi before him fail. Ino's heart leapt into her throat. Time was running out.

~xox~

Neji couldn't help but growl at the large and impressively skilled man before him. He was managing to thwart everything he and Shino had thrown at him, including being able to hold the Aburame's destruction beetles at bay with an odd lightening technique that also managed to keep Neji at a distance so that he couldn't use his 64 palms technique. This would be so much easier if Zetsumei hadn't insisted on following them out onto the field, apparently to terrified of the house collapsing on him if he stayed within it. Neji's movements were being severely restricted by his need to keep the older man behind him.

With his byakugan he kept an eye on his comrades as Chouji, Kiba, and Akamaru engaged the last three opponents, it appeared they were doing a good deal better than he was and this realization gave him hope that he and Shino would soon have help defeating the man in front of them. He only hoped one of them could manage to safely penetrate the mans defense. For the first time since he left Konoha, Neji questioned the make up of his team. They were all close range fighters, with the exception of Shino who still needed his insects to get close if he was going to do any significant damage to an opponent.

It was as these thoughts crossed his mind that he caught an additional flicker of movement off to the side of the field. At first he cursed his luck, believing that the enemy had brought reinforcements, it was only after switching his focus to assess the new treat that he realized it wasn't a threat at all. Ino was running across the field towards him, followed quickly by Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Sakura. It looked like he would be getting help sooner than he had anticipated. He smirked as Ino started shouting something to him, but he couldn't hear her over the din of the surrounding battle and his attention was quickly drawn back to the mountain of a man in front of him when he realized the man was preparing to throw a tagged kunai in his direction. With a quick glance to be sure Shino was also aware of the threat Neji jumped back to grab Kansei and roll out of the way of the blast.

Looking back up at his opponent while still lying protectively over his client Neji was confused to see that the man was doing nothing more than smirking at him triumphantly. Switching his gaze from the missing-nin to the woman quickly approaching behind him he saw that Ino was now in near hysterics, and this confused him even more. She knew better than to think a simple exploding tag would take him down. It wasn't until he felt a sharp, piercing pain in his left side and felt the slow drag of a blade across his abdomen that the pieces fell into place as he looked down into the suddenly cold and sinister gaze of the man he had been trying to protect. It had been a trap from the beginning.

Ino had reached them by this point, and Neji wasn't quite sure how she had gotten past his former opponent but his brain told him it probably had something to do with the shadows shifting along the ground behind her. She ripped Zetsumei from the ground under him and the man let out a startled cry as she flung him through the air and away from them.

"Neji!" her panicked voice called him and she rolled him over and her hands immediately started to glow, even as tears rolled down her beautiful face. "I was trying to warn you! We should have gotten here sooner."

Neji smiled up at her and brought one hand up so he could brush the tears away from her cheeks, it took so much more effort than he knew it should.

"It's ok," he told her, and his voice was hoarse even to his own ears, "You're here now."

His hand fell back to his side as he couldn't find the strength to lift it any longer and the world around him started to go fuzzy and then dark. He could hear Ino calling his name and he tried to smile for her, but he just felt to tired to make his facial muscles respond properly. The last thing he heard before the darkness claimed him, was Ino's beautiful voice, broken in a sob, as she called for Sakura.

AN: I'm so sorry for the incredibly long wait on this. I've known how I wanted this chapter to go since before I started writing this story, but fight scenes aren't my strong point and I just couldn't get the words to come out right! But they finally have, and once they started flowing I didn't let anything distract me (the hair dye was only on for an extra fifteen minutes, and I'm sure the blue will fade out eventually). Please tell me what you think. Next chapter will be out soon, I promise!


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Sorry for the long delay. There's an explanation in my profile if you're really interested in knowing the cause.

Ino pace the hospitals cold linoleum floors. The last several hours had been a blur for her. All she knew right now was that the man she loved lay in critical condition, possibly dying, and there was nothing she could do for him. She had, of course, done everything she could for him while they were still on the battle field and Sakura had been quick to help. The two of them had done everything possible to stabilize Neji there on the field, but the injury was severe and the procedure difficult. The little bastard Kansei had managed to not only stab Neji, but drag the blade across his abdomen and upwards, ripping through vital organs, slicing a hole in the stomach, and finally twisting up at the end to puncture a lung. Thankfully the rest of the battle was over quickly, and after the shriek of birdsong that proclaimed the fall of the rebels leader, they found Kakashi beside them pulling out an emergency transport scroll to send Ino and Neji back to Konoha and straight to the hospital.

Ino had wanted Sakura to return with them, a feasible option since the scroll was designed to be able to carry an entire four-man-cell, but she knew it would be folly to leave her remaining comrades with no medic, and there was no way that she herself would be staying behind. And so, she paced; hoping that the combined efforts of two of the world's best healers would be enough, praying that they wouldn't need their absent third.

After one more rotation of the room Ino's legs finally refused to carry her any more and she was forced to collapse into a chair. No longer able to keep her mind occupied with the movement of her body, she finally took notice of the room she was in and was surprised to find a stone-faced Hiashi sitting beside a red-eyed but stoic Hanabi over in one corner. When had they gotten there?

"I'm glad to see you finally sit down." Hiashi said, turning his head slightly to face her, "I was beginning to think you might collapse from exhaustion."

The look on his face said he'd seen it happen before, and knew how futile it would have been to try and stop her from letting it happen. Ino simply nodded in response, to weary to make herself speak.

They continued sitting like that for some time, no one speaking and only the hum of the harsh fluorescent lights to fill the silence. All of them stared towards the doors to the operating ward where Neji was being worked on. Ino was nearly delirious with how tired she was, but knew there was no hope for sleep. Not now, not while Neji's condition was still unknown. Her mind was running through thousands of different possibilities, things she could have done faster, anything that would shave a few minutes off of the trip to that damned cottage. She wanted to think that there was something she could have done better, even if she knew she had been assigned with two of the best strategists Konoha had ever known and the logical part of her brain said they did the best they could. Their best had fallen short this time, and the proof was lying on an operating table a short distance from her fighting for his life. What would she do if he died? Good God, it would be all her fault!

After a small eternity, the doors finally opened and Tsunade walked out. She was still drying her hands on a towel, showing that she had come to them directly from the operating room. All three occupents of the room rose to greet her and came forward to hear what she had to tell them. Ino was so lost in her own dread and anticipation that she didn't even notice when Hanabi took hold of her hand. It was Ino that Tsunade turned to address first.

"You did well out there, girl," she stated without a smile, "No one should ever have the life of someone they love left in their hands, but you did well. Better than I could have."

Usually Ino would have basked in the older woman's praise but at this moment the words barely registered. They weren't the ones she wanted to hear.

"But is he okay?" she asked quickly, resisting the urge to reach out and shake Tsunade, "Will he be okay?"

Tsunade smiled softly at her and nodded.

"He will live…"

Whatever the rest of the sentence was Ino didn't hear it. With the knowledge that Neji was alive, and likely to stay that way, all the nervous energy that had been keeping Ino going fled from her body simultaneously and she collapsed to the floor in an unconscious heap, still unknowingly clutching onto Hanabi's hand.

XOXOXO

Neji awoke slowly to a world of white accompanied by the strong smell of antiseptic that could only mean he was in the hospital. He also felt light with a detachment from his body and a fuzziness about his brain that suggested he was heavily doped up on pain killers. If what he remembered of his injuries was correct a good deal of medication was understandable. Ino must have gotten him back to Konoha somehow. The thought made him smile.

He rolled his head to the side in an attempt to look out the window, hopefully there would be a tree with birds in it out there, but was shocked to see the next bed was occupied by Ino herself! Neji remembered she had been on the field but the thought she might have been injured hadn't occurred to him. He tired to sit up, to get over to her and assure himself that she was okay, but a strong hand on his shoulder prevented him from getting far. Angry at the interference, Neji turned to glare up at whomever had stopped his progress, only to be confronted with the slightly amused face of his uncle.

"She's fine," Hiashi said calmly, "she simply exhausted herself waiting for news of your condition."

Neji raised his eyebrows and the tone of his uncles voice. The man almost sounded impressed. He was about to ask about it when a noise drew his attention back to Ino. She was beginning to stir.

"It looks like she's starting to wake up," He heard Hiashi say. Neji could tell by the creaking of the chair and the rustle of clothes that the man was rising to his feet, "I'll be back later,"

Another moment and Neji heard the door swing open and closed on its hinges just as Ino batted her eyes open. She then let out a huge and very unlady-like yawn. He watched silently as she stretched and then paused, realizing the ceiling above her wasn't her own. Her eyes widened and she threw back the bed linens while ripping and IV from her hand with little care. It was as she kicked at the sheet that had become tangled around one foot that he finally made his presence known by chuckling at the sight. Her head whipped around when she heard him and he could clearly read her thoughts from the expressions playing across her face: surprise he was there, relief he was ok, confusion at the whole situation, and then irritation at having been laughed at. Finally, her face settled into a peaceful smile that meant everything was going to be okay now.

He spread his arms in invitation and she made her way around the bed and over to him, now moving at a much more sedate pace than before. She slipped onto the bed and curled into his side, being careful not to jostle or put pressure on any area she knew to have been injured, and then released a small sigh of contentment.

"For a while there," she said quietly, "I thought I had lost you."

"No," he kissed the crown of her head, "You saved me."

He then tilted her chin up with his finger and kissed her, chastely at first but with increasing passion. They reveled in being alive and being together for several minutes until, summoned by the increasing rate of Neji's heart monitor, a nurse interrupted them and they were forced to contain themselves.


End file.
